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NBA Award Watch: Russell Westbrook is Oscar Robertson, the Chicago Bulls are good?

By John Buhler

Oct 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after defeating the Phoenix Suns 113-110 in overtime at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after defeating the Phoenix Suns 113-110 in overtime at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 27, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) during the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Spurs won the game 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 27, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) during the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Spurs won the game 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports /

Sixth Man of the Year: Patty Mills

It is very difficult to forecast early on who might end up being Sixth Man of the Year. One guy that is playing very well early this season is San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills. In five games, Mills has only started once, but that hasn’t mattered for this Australian backcourt player.

It’s as if his experience playing in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have catapulted Mills seriously into the sixth man conversation. Through five games, he is averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting at crazy clips from all over the field.

Mills has a 51.2 field goal percentage, is 50.0 from beyond the arc, a perfect 100.0 at the line, and has a ridiculous effective field goal percentage of 66.3. This has given a rotational player in Mills 0.6 win shares on this young season and the best PER in the league of any player that doesn’t start, at 24.8.

Knowing that long-time sixth man Manu Ginobili wasn’t going to be able to do it forever, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich may have found Ginobili’s eventual backcourt successor in Mills. Mills just turned 28 and is clearly in his prime as a sixth man candidate for the 2016-17 Spurs.

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